Troops join fight vs dengue in Mindanao

THE government security forces, aside from engaging in anti-insurgency campaign, are joining the campaign against dengue in Zamboanga City and other parts of Mindanao.

The troops from the military's Task Forces Zamboanga (TFZ) are set to join the city-wide clean-up drive to be spearheaded by the local government through the city health office.

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Colonel Santiago Baluyut, TFZ commander, said he already assigned personnel who will join the city-wide clean-up drive.

Elsewhere in Mindanao, the troops from the Army's 1003rd Infantry Brigade will also engage in similar activities, particularly in Compostela Valley province, in the coming days.

Dr. Rodel Agbulos, Zamboanga City Health officer, said the city-wide clean-up drive is set to be held Friday with the participation of all sectors, including the military and police.

The clean-up drive is aimed to search and destroy breeding sites of mosquito larvae as part of the preventive approach against dengue in Zamboanga City.

A City Dengue Management Team was also created to handle the curative approach against dengue, the number of cases of which had already reached an outbreak level.

The City Dengue Management Team will answer referrals for hard-to-manage dengue cases that require intensive handling and treatment of patients.

Data from the Zamboanga City Health Office showed that the total number of dengue cases from January until August 24 this year had already reached 1,755, or higher by 1,047 compared to 708 cases from January to August of last year.

The number of fatalities since January to date this year had reached a total of 20, while from January to August of last year there were only eight fatalities.

Major General Jorge Segovia, commander of the Army's 10th Infantry Division, said that initially, the 66th Infantry Battalion will deploy personnel in the town of Mawab, Compostela Valley province on Tuesday to compose the Dengue Awareness and Prevention Advocacy Teams (Dapat).

Dapat's main task is to help communities in different villages to prevent the spread of dengue, Segovia said.

He said the next beneficiaries of the program are the barangays under the town of Nabunturan, also in Compostela Valley province.

The Department of Health (DOH) reported that dengue cases nationwide have reached 40,648 for the first seven months of this year, which is 48 percent higher than last year's 27,473 for the same period.

The DOH said trends have changed and that dengue is no longer just a rainy season disease, as cases are being reported nationwide throughout the year.

Segovia said he and his officers and men fully support all initiatives that will promote the good health of the people in his area of responsibility. (Bong Garcia)